Snowe, a Senate centrist, faces challenges from both sides

WASHINGTON — Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, like most of the public, is frustrated by Congress.

Jamie Webben

WASHINGTON — Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, like most of the public, is frustrated by Congress.

If it were up to her, Congress would rely less on political affiliation and more on compromise.

"I feel terrible that we can't rise to the highest level possible," she said in a recent phone interview. "I want to put a diagram on the (Senate) floor on how a bill becomes a law."

In her 33 years in Congress, Snowe has had plenty of legislative experience, a result of having spent the majority of her life as an elected official.

A moderate Republican, Snowe is one of the few centrists left in Congress. She is largely known for her ability to decide the fate of a bill single-handedly — she is the "pivotal swing vote in the Senate," as the Almanac of American Politics describes her.

In 2006, Time magazine named Snowe one of "The Top Ten Senators," calling her "the caretaker" for her willingness to vote across party lines.

"She is considered one of the very few bridges between Republicans and Democrats," said Sandy Maisel, a Democrat who is director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College.

But being a moderate willing to break with her fellow Republicans has also caused Snowe to draw criticism from the right for not being conservative enough. Tea party activists often refer to her as a "RINO" — Republican in Name Only — and they have targeted Snowe's seat next year.

With that threat to Snowe's re-election, there have been suggestions that she is voting to appease the right and fend off her two primary challengers. However, the National Journal's annual congressional ratings found Snowe to be only slightly more conservative on economic, social and foreign issues in 2010 than she was in 2009. That finding is consistent with The Washington Post's voting database, which found Snowe has voted with fellow Republicans 74 percent of the time in the current Congress. This represents a slightly greater tilt to her party's leadership than her 69 percent rating in the previous Congress, but it still establishes Snowe as among the most independent-minded members among Senate Republicans.

"My record is clear and it has been," Snowe said of the claim that she has tailored her votes to conform to a particular agenda.

Chris Potholm, a political analyst and professor at Bowdoin College, said Snowe "votes her conscience" and her politics align with Maine voters. "She is right in the center, with the rest of the state," he said.

Another centrist, former Maine governor and political independent Angus King, said: "As a person, Snowe is very thoughtful and serious. It is hard to separate her as a person from her work in Congress because she has been there for so long and she takes her job very seriously."

In nearly four decades in public office, Snowe has never lost an election. In her last two bids for re-election in 2000 and 2006, she won with 69 percent and 74 percent of the vote, respectively.

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, a non-partisan publication that analyzes House and Senate campaigns, said Snowe's chances of re-election next year "look good."

Duffy added that Gov. Paul LePage's longtime friendship with Snowe and his endorsement of her have helped "douse" some of the tea party's influence in the simmering Senate race. LePage was elected last year with tea party support.

But Scott D'Amboise, a small-business owner and one of Snowe's tea party challengers, said 2012 could be the first year Snowe loses an election. "She's never had a Republican challenger before. For that reason, and that reason only, I think she could lose," he said.

Lawyer Jon Hinck, Snowe's Democratic challenger, also said Maine might not re-elect Snowe. Her "votes go back and forth," he said.

Snowe appears unshaken by the prospect of a tough challenge. "I'm a fighter," she said, an attitude that may be rooted in the hardships she experienced early in life.

Born Olympia Jean Bouchles on Feb. 21, 1947, in Augusta, Maine, Snowe lost her mother to breast cancer at age 8 and her father a year later to heart disease.

While earning a degree in political science at the University of Maine, she met her future husband, Peter Snowe. Just three years into their marriage, when Olympia was 26, he died in an automobile accident. That tragedy launched Olympia Snowe's political career: She ran for and won the seat in the Maine House of Representatives to which her husband had been elected shortly before his death.

Nearly four decades later, Snowe has served in the Maine Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives for Maine's 2nd District, and the U.S. Senate, where she has served since 1994.

Of her long and successful political career, Snowe said, "Did I plan on it? No. I took it election by election. I was driven by the challenge of it."

Snowe's early political accomplishments made her the first woman to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress, and the youngest Republican woman and first Greek-American woman elected to Congress.

When Snowe entered the Senate, she was one of eight female senators. She is now one of 17, with whom Snowe has connected through weekly dinners and committee assignments.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., chairwoman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on which Snowe is the senior Republican, said the pair has "developed a strong and respectful working relationship."

Back home, both Democrats and Republicans praise Snowe for her availability to constituents. Roger Berle, a writer from Falmouth and self-described "Eisenhower Republican," and Gordon Grimes, a Portland attorney and registered Democrat, both said Snowe is accessible to Mainers.

"She does a good job of balancing interests in Washington with getting back to the state almost every weekend to see people," Grimes said.

Potholm said Snowe's embrace of "retail politics" make her stronger than her opponents. "In a state like Maine, you need to talk to people face to face, and tell them why you voted the way you did. It makes a difference," he said.

It appears to be paying off. A survey released early last month by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic Party-affiliated firm, pegged Snowe's approval rating at 57 percent. That makes her among the most popular senators nationwide, at a time when Congress's approval level is at an all-time low.

But Snowe said she isn't driven by popularity. Instead, she said she tries to "help others" and do what is best for Maine.

"I use the power of the office to solve problems and right the wrongs. I try to be a catalyst to government," she said. "I just don't give up."

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service